Melbourne artist Max Middleton has been farewelled at his funeral in Melbourne today.

Mr Middleton, who was 90-years-old, died last weekend.

In a career spanning 60 years, Mr Middleton held 68 exhibitions and his works are held in gallery collections in Benalla, Castlemaine, Bendigo and in Queensland.

Known as a 'plein air' landscape painter, Mr Middleton loved to paint sunrises in northern Victoria, aiming to capture what he saw on the spot in paint.

"He'd go out really early in the morning, because sunrise was his favourite time to paint when the sun is absolutely transforming the atmosphere and the landscape," said his daughter, artist Anne Middleton.

"He would do small sketches on the spot and from them he would do larger studio pieces."

Ms Middleton says capturing the light was crucial to him.

"Capturing light in paint is immensely difficult. So few artists have actually achieved that. You're looking at the great painters, like Turner and Constable, that could actually do that.," she said.

"His landscapes in particular are just so true. It wasn't some romanticised version of what he saw. He tried to paint it truly and he achieved that, which is really remarkable."

However Mr Middleton's work never gained the recognition of some of his contemporaries such as Geoffrey Smart and Sydney Nolan.

"He was really carrying on a tradition of iconic landscape painting in Australia rather than forging ahead with new ideas or trendy painting methods," Ms Middleton said.